Masters Conference

A belated post about the terrific Masters Conference, held last Thursday and Friday at the impressive Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C.

The event was limited to 350 attendees — a smart move, because the most consistent compliment I heard from attendees (attorneys/GCs/lit support/paralegals/vendors) was appreciation about how intimate the sessions were. The conference was slugged "E-Landscape in the FRCP Fallout," and it featured some top names in EDD, including Michael Arkfeld, one of our EDD Update blog authors.

I was extremely impressed with Arkfeld's presentation, "The Changing Rules of Litigation," which provided one of the best overview of the development of e-discovery I have heard.

Arkfeld isn't afraid to be blunt, as readers of last month's "An Undercurrent of Fear" LTN cover story saw, with his warnings about the potential hazards of not staying current with EDD. "Ninety-nine percent of lawyers cannot handle eDiscovery," he told the audience. And the consequences are severe: "Losing an otherwise winnable case, imposition of court/agency sanctions, disciplinary action, malpractice, and claims of ineffective assistance of counsel."

Arkfeld, while applauding the work of think tanks, cautioned the audience not to lean too heavily on their advice. The Sedona Principles, he said, are guidelines, not definitive law:  "You can't rely on them."

He also warned the audience to be careful about semantics -- that not everyone is in synch. For example, "metadata" can refer to three distinct things, he said: 1) system info (doc creation data), 2) substantive (draft comments etc.) and 3) embedded. Tip: Never, ever scrub files without first discussing it to opposing parties.

John Tredennick
Another one of my favorite speakers, John Tredennick, had two panels, one on extranets and another on foreign language issues in EDD. Tredennick, a former Holland & Hart partner, spun off into vendor-land, with a company first named CaseShare and now called Catalyst Repository Inc.

His talks are always accessible, funny, and he loves lists. He reminded the audience why it's often not a great idea for firms to try to build their own extranets. Among the reasons: it isn't your core business; it will detract your staff from other tasks; who will provide 24/7 support?; and it's expensive. But he acknowledged that outsourcing has its issues: limited customization; loss of control; dependence on a remote team; nobody to yell at; service levels; continuity; and pricing risk.

But once you proceed, his tips include: centralize on a single product; keep the interface simple; be sure they are secure; get the right staff; train your team; make sure it's used; and don't forget support.

Women in eDiscovery

I was honored to moderate a panel on litigation readiness, sponsored by Women in eDiscovery, with a terrific panel that included Cynthia Bateman (left) (Georgia Pacific); Amy Scearcy (U.S. Bank); Bonnie Courtland (SuperValu); Carmen Field (Daylight Forensic) and Catherine Muir (Sprint). We had a lively discussion that focused on cost containment tactics, use of contract review attorneys, "preferred" vendor programs and more.

Keynote & Party

Dan Regard of LECG and consultant Ann Kershaw (right) (A. Kershaw P.C.) shared the podium for the luncheon keynote address, where they offered some tips on making sense of the new rules, publications, case law and best practices. Regard also hosted a fabulous kick-off party at his fabulously renovated Dupont Circle home that had me absolutely in an acute state of real estate lust. It reminded me so much of the amazing French Quarter homes we visited during Mardi Gras -- no surprise, considering Regard's New Orleans roots. He's an amazing host and it was an incredible party. Don't ever turn down an invite to a party at Chez Regard.

In sum, a terrific event, and kudos to the speakers, and the organizers, including Lindsay Couch, Sasha Hefler, Cindy Moen, and especially to Amy Juers, of Edge Legal Marketing, for her kind invitation to me to join the WIE panel.